By Akhona Landu South African students have a vibrant history of actively contributing towards changing the state of the country’s education system. The students before us stood tall and proud against an oppressive regime that stifled opportunities to excel for students across the country. They were unapologetic in their demands and methods of ensuring that […]
News/Politics
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
We need a national student convention and truth commission
No one else but the students of our country are able to halt the steady progress of campus violence to full-blown revolution. This is so because the generational distance in lived experience between public decision-makers and students is such that it disallows an authentic engagement between the student movement and “our parents” – young people […]
Posted inNews/Politics
I cannot defend Zuma’s decisions anymore
By Mpho Buntse It saddens me to find myself in a position where I’m questioning my loyalty to the ruling party. I’m willing to be seen as a sell-out by my fellow comrades, I’m failing to even defend the decisions taken by the president anymore. These past few years, particularly under the leadership of President […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
Debunking economic myths about African growth
By Zukiswa Mqolomba Recent reports on Africa’s development have been characterized by high levels of optimism. This trend is totally different from previous commentary, which was riddled with pessimistic accounts about the future of the continent. Development agencies cite the rapid economic growth of some African countries as a sign of economic development. Seven of […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
UFS clash was bound to happen sooner or later
By Danai Nhando The violent attack of black students that took place at the University of the Free State is a physical manifestation of the volatile state of racial tension in the nation. We have been sitting on a seemingly dormant volcano that has slowly begun to erupt. Many people have voiced their outrage at […]
Posted inBusiness, Equality, Lifestyle, News/Politics
If Rhodes must fall, art must burn
By Zinhle Manzini Last week it was reported that the Rhodes Must Fall students had removed paintings from the university’s walls and set them alight. While some people remain unclear about the motive of such an act, some were quick to see it as property damage. Rumours have it that the paintings that were set […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
‘On a knife-edge’: Anti-blackness and economic violence at Rhodes University
All around South Africa, this is a time where predominantly young people flock campuses, straight out of high school to begin the next chapter of their lives. At the university currently known as “Rhodes”, this was no different. All one could spot were groups of enthusiastic young people parading through campus attending various activities orientating […]
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Pravin can’t save us
Why does South Africa need a broad civil society movement led by faith leaders on the socio-economic future of the country when we have a democratically elected government? Why does the Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, Thabo Makgoba, have to step outside his pulpit and convene discussions about economic policy and jobs, social cohesion and […]
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EFF has only contempt for democracy and the law
As South Africans are discovering, a state-of-the-art constitution does not of itself a thriving democracy make. Similarly, ersatz military ranks, red berets and Che Guevara slogans do not a revolution make. The Economic Freedom Fighters love radical rhetoric but the seizure of “white” land and the nationalisation without compensation of the mines are, at this […]
Posted inEquality, Health, Lifestyle, News/Politics
Black anger management
Many ugly and unfair things were done to blacks under apartheid. The miracle that some people do not believe happened in 1994 is that black people, generally, forgave whites for their sins. They chose to let bygones be bygones, release the hurt and trust that the gesture would significantly contribute to nation building and reconciliation. […]
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#RhodesMustFall: Universities are crumbling under the hegemony of youth morality
The burning of assets at UCT is not solely about the vandalism of property, but rather the depreciation of the sum total of parts that make an education valuable. It is safe to say that many students do not want knowledge primarily for knowledge’s sake; if that were the case then many more might consider […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
#Shackville is your struggle too, black graduates
By Michelle October What a time to be alive, students revolting and the flames of rebellion licking at the doors of the colonisers. The Rhodes Must Fall movement’s reignited its efforts and burning historic artworks at the University of Cape Town. This activism could just as easily be airlifted and placed outside Parliament’s doors because […]